Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, and the area's fertile soil is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are in West River. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is there. South Dakota has a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The state's ecology features species typical of a North American grassland biome.

Humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Key events in the 20th century included the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, and an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming.

While several Democraticsenators have represented South Dakota for multiple terms at the federal level, the state government is largely controlled by the Republican Party, whose nominees have carried South Dakota in each of the last 13 presidential elections. Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in areas to attract and retain residents. South Dakota's history and rural character still strongly influence the state's culture.

South Dakota is in the north-central United States, and is considered a part of the Midwest by the U.S. Census Bureau;[9] it is also part of the Great Plains region. The culture, economy, and geography of western South Dakota have more in common with the West than the Midwest.[8][10] South Dakota has a total area of 77,116 square miles (199,730 km2), making the state the 17th largest in the Union.[2]

Much of western South Dakota is covered by grasslands and features buttes such as Thunder Butte, shown above.

South Dakota can generally be divided into three regions: eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills.[13] The Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic, social, and political differences between eastern and western South Dakota. The geography of the Black Hills, long considered sacred by Native Americans, differs from its surroundings to such an extent it can be considered separate from the rest of western South Dakota. At times the Black Hills are combined with the rest of western South Dakota, and people often refer to the resulting two regions divided by the Missouri River as West River and East River.[8][10]

Eastern South Dakota generally features higher precipitation and lower topography than the western part of the state. Smaller geographic regions of this area include the Coteau des Prairies, the Dissected Till Plains, and the James River Valley. The Coteau des Prairies is a plateau bordered on the east by the Minnesota River Valley and on the west by the James River Basin.[12] Further west, the James River Basin is mostly low, flat, highly eroded land, following the flow of the James River through South Dakota from north to south.[14] The Dissected Till Plains, an area of rolling hills and fertile soil that covers much of Iowa and Nebraska, extends into the southeastern corner of South Dakota. Layers deposited during the Pleistocene epoch, starting around two million years ago, cover most of eastern South Dakota.[15] These are the youngest rock and sediment layers in the state, the product of several successive periods of glaciation which deposited a large amount of rocks and soil, known as till, over the area.[16]

The Great Plains cover most of the western two-thirds of South Dakota. West of the Missouri River the landscape becomes more arid and rugged, consisting of rolling hills, plains, ravines, and steep flat-topped hills called buttes.[17] In the south, east of the Black Hills, lie the South Dakota Badlands. Erosion from the Black Hills, marine skeletons which fell to the bottom of a large shallow sea that once covered the area, and volcanic material all contribute to the geology of this area.[15][18][19]

The Black Hills, a low mountain range, is in southwestern South Dakota.

The Black Hills are in the southwestern part of South Dakota and extend into Wyoming. This range of low mountains covers 6,000 sq mi (16,000 km2), with peaks that rise from 2,000 to 4,000 feet (600 to 1,200 m) above their bases. The Black Hills are the location of Black Elk Peak (7,242 ft or 2,207 m above sea level), the highest point in South Dakota and also the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.[6] Two billion-year-old Precambrian formations, the oldest rocks in the state, form the central core of the Black Hills.[15][20] Formations from the Paleozoic Era form the outer ring of the Black Hills;[21] these were created between roughly 540 and 250 million years ago. This area features rocks such as limestone, which were deposited here when the area formed the shoreline of an ancient inland sea.[21]

South Dakota has a continental climate with four distinct seasons, ranging from cold, dry winters to hot and semi-humid summers. During the summers, the state's average high temperature is often close to 90 °F (32 °C), although it cools to near 60 °F (16 °C) at night. It is not unusual for South Dakota to have severe hot, dry spells in the summer with the temperature climbing above 100 °F (38 °C) several times a year.[32] Winters are cold with January high temperatures averaging below freezing and low temperatures averaging below 10 °F (−12 °C) in most of the state. The highest recorded temperature is 120 °F (49 °C) at Usta on July 15, 2006[33] and the lowest recorded temperature is −58 °F (−50 °C) at McIntosh on February 17, 1936.[34]

Average annual precipitation in South Dakota ranges from semi-arid conditions in the northwestern part of the state (around 15 inches or 380 mm) to semi-humid around the southeast portion of the state (around 25 inches or 640 mm),[32] although a small area centered on Lead in the Black Hills has the highest precipitation at nearly 30 inches (760 mm) per year.[35]

South Dakota summers bring frequent, sometimes severe, thunderstorms with high winds, thunder, and hail. The state's eastern part is often considered part of Tornado Alley,[36] and South Dakota experiences an average of 30 tornadoes each year.[37] Severe blizzards and ice storms occur often during winter.

Monthly average high and low temperatures for various South Dakota Cities

Humans have lived in what is today South Dakota for several thousand years. The first inhabitants were Paleoindianhunter-gatherers, and disappeared from the area around 5000 BC.[49] Between 500 AD and 800 AD, a semi-nomadic people known as the Mound Builders lived in central and eastern South Dakota. In the 14th century, the Crow Creek Massacre occurred, in which several hundred men, women, and children were killed near the Missouri River.[50]

By 1500, the Arikara (or Ree) had settled in much of the Missouri River valley.[51] European contact with the area began in 1743, when the LaVérendrye brothers explored the region. The LaVérendrye group buried a plate near the site of modern-day Pierre, claiming the region for France as part of greater Louisiana.[52] in 1762 the entire region became part of the Spanish Louisiana until 1802.[53][54] By the early 19th century, the Sioux had largely replaced the Arikara as the dominant group in the area.[55]

Land speculators founded two of eastern South Dakota's largest present-day cities: Sioux Falls in 1856[59] and Yankton in 1859.[60] In 1861, the Dakota Territory was established by the United States government (this initially included North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Montana and Wyoming).[61] Settlement of the area, mostly by people from the eastern United States as well as western and northern Europe, increased rapidly,[62] especially after the completion of an eastern railway link to Yankton in 1873.[63]

In 1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills during a military expedition led by George A. Custer[64][65] and miners and explorers began illegally entering land promised to the Lakota. Custer's expedition took place despite the fact the US had granted the entire western half of present-day South Dakota (West River) to the Sioux in 1868 by the Treaty of Laramie as part of the Great Sioux Reservation.[66] The Sioux declined to grant mining rights or land in the Black Hills, and war broke out after the U.S. failed to stop white miners and settlers from entering the region.[67] Eventually the US defeated the Sioux and broke up the Great Sioux Reservation into five reservations, settling the Lakota in those areas.[57] (In 1980, the US Supreme Court and Congress ordered payment to the Lakota for the illegal seizure of the Black Hills. The case remains unsettled, as the Lakota refuse to accept the money and instead insist on the return of the land.)[68]

A harvest in South Dakota in 1898

A growing population and political concerns (admitting two states meant having four new senators for the Republican Party) caused Dakota Territory to be divided in half and President Benjamin Harrison signed proclamations formally admitting South Dakota and North Dakota to the union on November 2, 1889.[69][70] Harrison had the papers shuffled to obscure which one was signed first and the order went unrecorded.[70][71]

During the 1930s, several economic and climatic conditions combined with disastrous results for South Dakota. A lack of rainfall, extremely high temperatures and inappropriate cultivation techniques produced what was known as the Dust Bowl in South Dakota and several other plains states. Fertile topsoil was blown away in massive dust storms, and several harvests were completely ruined.[73] The experiences of the Dust Bowl, coupled with local bank foreclosures and the general economic effects of the Great Depression, resulted in many South Dakotans leaving the state. The population of South Dakota declined by more than 7% between 1930 and 1940.[74]

Economic stability returned with the U.S. entry into World War II in 1941, when demand for the state's agricultural and industrial products grew as the nation mobilized for war.[75] In 1944, the Pick–Sloan Plan was passed as part of the Flood Control Act of 1944 by the U.S. Congress, resulting in the construction of six large dams on the Missouri River, four of which are at least partially in South Dakota.[76] Flood control, hydroelectricity, and recreational opportunities such as boating and fishing are provided by the dams and their reservoirs.[76]

In recent decades, South Dakota has been transformed from a state dominated by agriculture to one with a more diversified economy. The tourism industry has grown considerably since the completion of the interstate system in the 1960s, with the Black Hills becoming more important as a destination. The financial service industry began to grow in the state as well, with Citibank moving its credit card operations from New York to Sioux Falls in 1981, a move that has been followed by several other financial companies. South Dakota was the first state to eliminate caps on interest rates.[77]

In 2007, the site of the recently closed Homestake gold mine near Lead was chosen as the location of a new underground research facility, the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory.[78] Despite a growing state population and recent economic development, many rural areas have been struggling over the past 50 years with locally declining populations and the emigration of educated young adults to larger South Dakota cities, such as Rapid City or Sioux Falls, or to other states.[79] Mechanization and consolidation of agriculture has contributed greatly to the declining number of smaller family farms and the resulting economic and demographic challenges facing rural towns.[80]

As of 2015, South Dakota had an estimated population of 858,469, an increase of 44,289, or 5.44%, since the year 2010.[83] 7.3% of South Dakota's population was reported as under 5, 24% under 18, and 14.3% were 65 or older.[83] Females made up approximately 50.2% of the population.[83] As of the 2000 census, South Dakota ranked fifth-lowest in the nation in population and population density.

Of the people residing in South Dakota, 65.7% were born in South Dakota, 31.4% were born in another U.S. state, 0.6% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 2.3% were born in another country.[84]

German Americans are the largest ancestry group in most parts of the state, especially in East River (east of the Missouri River), although there are also large Scandinavian-descended populations in some counties. South Dakota has the nation's largest population of Hutterites,[91] a communal Anabaptist group which emigrated in 1874 from Europe, primarily from German-speaking areas.

American Indians, largely Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota (Sioux), are predominant in several counties and comprise 20 per cent of the population in West River. The seven large Indian reservations in the state occupy an area much diminished from their former Great Sioux Reservation of West River, which the US government had once allocated to the Sioux tribes. South Dakota has the third-highest proportion of Native Americans of any state, behind Alaska and New Mexico.[92]

Five of the state's counties are wholly within the boundaries of sovereign Indian reservations.[93] Because of the limitations of climate and land, and isolation from urban areas with more employment opportunities, living standards on many South Dakota reservations are often far below the national average; Ziebach County ranked as the poorest county in the nation in 2009.[94] The unemployment rate in Fort Thompson, on the Crow Creek Reservation, is 70%, and 21% of households lack plumbing or basic kitchen appliances.[95] A 1995 study by the U.S. Census Bureau found 58% of homes on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation did not have a telephone.[96] The reservations' isolation also inhibits their ability to generate revenue from gaming casinos, an avenue that has proved profitable for many tribes closer to urban centers.

In 1995 the legislature passed a law to make English the "common language" of the state.[1] As of the 2000 census, 1.90% of the population aged 5 or older speak German at home, while 1.51% speak Lakota or Dakota, and 1.43% Spanish.[97] As of 2010, 93.46% (692,504) of South Dakota residents aged 5 and older spoke English as their primary language. 6.54% of the population spoke a language other than English. 2.06% (15,292) of the population spoke Spanish, 1.39% (10,282) spoke Dakota, and 1.37% (10,140) spoke German. Other languages spoken included Vietnamese (0.16%), Chinese (0.12%), and Russian (0.10%).[98]

Over the last several decades, the population in many rural areas has declined in South Dakota, in common with other Great Plains states. The change has been characterized as "rural flight" as family farming has declined. Young people have moved to cities for other employment. This trend has continued in recent years, with 30 of South Dakota's counties losing population between the 1990 and the 2000 census.[99] During that time, nine counties had a population loss of greater than 10%, with Harding County, in the northwest corner of the state, losing nearly 19% of its population.[99] Low birth rates and a lack of younger immigration has caused the median age of many of these counties to increase. In 24 counties, at least 20% of the population is over the age of 65,[100] compared with a national rate of 12.8%.[83]

The effect of rural flight has not been spread evenly through South Dakota, however. Although most rural counties and small towns have lost population, the Sioux Falls area, the larger counties along Interstate 29, the Black Hills, and many Indian reservations have all gained population.[99] As the reservations have exercised more sovereignty, some Sioux have returned to them from urban areas. Lincoln County near Sioux Falls was the seventh fastest-growing county (by percentage) in the United States in 2010.[101] The growth in these areas has compensated for losses in the rest of the state.[99] South Dakota's total population continues to increase steadily, albeit at a slower rate than the national average.[83]

The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church with 148,883 members; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with 112,649 members; and the United Methodist Church (UMC) with 36,020 members.[102] (The ELCA and UMC are specific denominations within the broader terms 'Lutheran' and 'Methodist', respectively.) The results of a 2001 survey, in which South Dakotans were asked to identify their religion, include:[103]

The current-dollar gross state product of South Dakota was US$39.8 billion as of 2010, the fifth smallest total state output in the US.[104] The per capita personal income was $38,865 in 2010, ranked 25th in the U.S.,[105] and 12.5% of the population was below the poverty line in 2008.[106] CNBC's list of "Top States for Business for 2010" has recognized South Dakota as the seventh best state in the nation.[107] In July 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 4.7%.[108]

The service industry is the largest economic contributor in South Dakota. This sector includes the retail, finance, and health care industries. Citibank, which was the largest bank holding company in the United States at one time, established national banking operations in South Dakota in 1981 to take advantage of favorable banking regulations.[77] Government spending is another important segment of the state's economy, providing over ten percent of the gross state product. Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Rapid City, is the second-largest single employer in the state.[109]

Agriculture has historically been a key component of the South Dakota economy. Although other industries have expanded rapidly in recent decades, agricultural production is still very important to the state's economy, especially in rural areas. The five most valuable agricultural products in South Dakota are cattle, corn (maize), soybeans, wheat, and hogs.[110] Agriculture-related industries such as meat packing and ethanol production also have a considerable economic impact on the state. South Dakota is the sixth leading ethanol-producing state in the nation.[111]

Another important sector in South Dakota's economy is tourism. Many travel to view the attractions of the state, particularly those in the Black Hills region, such as historic Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, and the nearby state and national parks. One of the largest tourist events in the state is the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The five-day event drew over 739,000 attendees in 2015; significant considering the state has a total population of 850,000.[112] In 2006, tourism provided an estimated 33,000 jobs in the state and contributed over two billion dollars to the economy of South Dakota.[113]

South Dakota has 83,609 miles (134,556 km) of highways, roads, and streets, along with 679 miles (1,093 km) of interstate highways.[114] Two major interstates pass through South Dakota: Interstate 90, which runs east and west through the southern half of the state; and Interstate 29, running north and south in the eastern portion of the state. The I-29 corridor features generally higher rates of population and economic growth than areas in eastern South Dakota further from the interstate.[99]

Also in the state are the shorter Interstates 190, a spur into central Rapid City, and 229, a loop around southern and eastern Sioux Falls. Several major U.S. highways pass through the state. U.S. routes 12, 14, 16, 18 and 212 travel east and west, while U.S. routes 81, 83, 85 and 281 run north and south. South Dakota and Montana are the only states sharing a land border which is not traversed by a paved road.

South Dakota contains two National Scenic Byways. The Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway is in the Black Hills, while the Native American Scenic Byway runs along the Missouri River in the north-central part of the state.[115] Other scenic byways include the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway, the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, and the Wildlife Loop Road Scenic Byway.

The Governor of South Dakota occupies the executive branch of the state government.[121] The current governor is Dennis Daugaard, a Republican from Garretson. The state constitution gives the governor the power to sign into law or veto bills passed by the state legislature, to serve as commander-in-chief of the South Dakota National Guard, to appoint a cabinet, and to commute criminal sentences or to pardon those convicted of crimes.[122][123] The governor serves for a four-year term, and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.[124]

The state legislature is made up of two bodies, the Senate, which has 35 members, and the House of Representatives, with 70 members. South Dakota is divided into 35 legislative districts,[125] with voters electing two representatives and one senator per district.[125] The legislature meets for an annual session which begins on the second Tuesday in January and lasts for 30 days; it also meets if a special session is called by the governor.[125]

The judicial branch is made up of several levels. The state supreme court, with four justices and a chief justice, is the highest court in the state.[126] Below the supreme court are the circuit courts; 41 circuit judges serve in seven judicial circuits in the state.[126] Below the circuit courts are the magistrate courts, which deal with more minor criminal and civil actions.[126]

As of 2005, South Dakota has the lowest per capita total state tax rate in the United States.[127] The state does not levy personal or corporate income taxes,[128]inheritance taxes,[129] or taxes on intangible personal property. The state sales tax rate is 4.5 percent.[130] Various localities have local levies so in some areas the rate is 6 percent. The state sales tax does not apply to sales to Indians on Indian reservations, but many reservations have a compact with the state. Businesses on the reservation collect the tax and the state refunds to the Indian Tribes the percentage of sales tax collections relating to the ratio of Indian population to total population in the county or area affected. Ad valoremproperty taxes are local taxes and are a large source of funding for school systems, counties, municipalities and other local government units. The South Dakota Special Tax Division regulates some taxes including cigarette and alcohol-related taxes.[131]

South Dakota politics are generally dominated by the Republican Party. Since statehood, Republicans have carried the state's electoral votes in all but five presidential elections: 1896, 1912 (By Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party), 1932, 1936 and 1964. Only Alaska has been carried fewer times by Democrat presidential candidates. Not even George McGovern, the Democratic nominee in 1972 as well as a native South Dakotan, was able to carry the state.[135][136] Additionally, a Democrat has not won the governorship since 1974. As of 2016, Republicans hold a 15% voter registration advantage over Democrats[137] and hold large majorities in both the state House of Representatives[138] and Senate.[139]

Despite the state's general Republican and conservative leanings, Democrats have found success in various statewide elections, most notably in those involving South Dakota's congressional representatives in Washington. American Indians have been becoming more active in state and county electoral politics. In the 2002 election, American Indian voting carried Tim Johnson as the Democratic candidate by a margin of 532 votes.[140][141] Until his electoral defeat in 2004, Senator Tom Daschle was the Senate minority leader (and briefly its majority leader during Democratic control of the Senate in 2001–02).[142]

In 2016, South Dakota voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by a margin of 30%, incumbent Republican Senator John Thune won a third term against Democrat Jay Williams, and incumbent Republican congresswoman Kristi Noem defeated Democrat Paula Hawks for South Dakota's at-large seat in the US House.[143]

Contemporary political issues in South Dakota include the costs and benefits of the state lottery,[144] South Dakota's relatively low rankings in education spending (particularly teacher pay – recently the State Sales Tax was increased from 4% to 4.5% to finance an increase in teacher pay),[145] and recent legislative and electoral attempts to ban abortion in the state.[146][147]

South Dakota's culture reflects the state's American Indian, rural, Western, and European roots. A number of annual events celebrating the state's ethnic and historical heritage take place around the state, such as Days of '76 in Deadwood,[148] Czech Days in Tabor,[149] and the annual St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo festivities in Sioux Falls. The various tribes hold many annual pow wows at their reservations throughout the state, to which non-Native Americans are sometimes invited.[150]Custer State Park holds an annual Buffalo Roundup, in which volunteers on horseback gather the park's herd of around 1,500 bison.[151]

Black Elk (Lakota) was a medicine man and heyokha, whose life spanned the transition to reservations. His accounts of the 19th-century Indian Wars and Ghost Dance movement, and his deep thoughts on personal visions and Native American religion, form the basis of the book Black Elk Speaks, first published in 1932. (Among several editions, a premier annotated edition was published in 2008.)[152][153]Paul Goble, an award-winning children's book author and illustrator, has been based in the Black Hills since 1977.[154]

South Dakota has also produced several notable artists. Harvey Dunn grew up on a homestead near Manchester in the late 19th century. While Dunn worked most of his career as a commercial illustrator, his most famous works showed various scenes of frontier life; he completed these near the end of his career.[156]Oscar Howe (Crow) was born on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation and won fame for his watercolor paintings.[157] Howe was one of the first Native American painters to adopt techniques and style heavily influenced by the mid-20th century abstraction movement, rather than relying on traditional Native American styles. Terry Redlin, originally from Watertown, is an accomplished painter of rural and wildlife scenes. Many of his works are on display at the Redlin Art Center in Watertown.[158]

Sioux Falls, with a population of around 160,000, is the largest city in South Dakota.

Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota, with a 2010 population of 153,888,[159] and a metropolitan area population of 238,122.[160] The city, founded in 1856, is in the southeast corner of the state.[161] Retail, finance, and healthcare have assumed greater importance in Sioux Falls,[162] where the economy was originally centered on agri-business and quarrying.

Rapid City, with a 2010 population of 67,956,[159] and a metropolitan area population of 124,766,[160] is the second-largest city in the state. It is on the eastern edge of the Black Hills, and was founded in 1876.[163] Rapid City's economy is largely based on tourism and defense spending,[162] because of the proximity of many tourist attractions in the Black Hills and Ellsworth Air Force Base.

The next eight largest cities in the state, in order of descending 2010 population, are Aberdeen (26,091), Brookings (22,056), Watertown (21,482), Mitchell (15,254), Yankton (14,454), Pierre (13,646), Huron (12,592), and Vermillion (10,571).[159] Pierre is the state capital, and Brookings and Vermillion are the locations of the state's two largest universities (South Dakota State University and University of South Dakota, respectively). With a population of about 14,000, Pierre is the second smallest state capital in the United States.[164] Of the ten largest cities in the state, only Rapid City is west of the Missouri River.[159][165]

There are nine television stations broadcasting in South Dakota;[169]South Dakota Public Television broadcasts from a number of locations around the state, while the other stations broadcast from Sioux Falls or Rapid City. The two largest television media markets in South Dakota are Sioux Falls-Mitchell, with a viewership of 246,020, and Rapid City, with a viewership of 91,070.[170] The two markets rank as 114th and 177th largest in the United States, respectively.[170] The state's first television station, KELO-TV, began airing in Sioux Falls in 1953. Among KELO's early programs was Captain 11, an afternoon children's program. Captain 11 ran from 1955 until 1996, making it the nation's longest continuously running children's television program.[171]

As of 2006, South Dakota has a total primary and secondary school enrollment of 136,872, with 120,278 of these students being educated in the public school system.[177] There are 703 public schools[178] in 168 school districts,[179] giving South Dakota the highest number of schools per capita in the United States.[180] The current high school graduation rate is 89.9%,[181] and the average ACT score is 21.8, slightly above the national average of 21.1.[182] 89.8% of the adult population has earned at least a high school diploma, and 25.8% has earned a bachelor's degree or higher.[183] South Dakota's 2008 average public school teacher salary of $36,674, compared to a national average of $52,308, was the lowest in the nation.[184] In 2007 South Dakota passed legislation modeled after Montana's Indian Education for All Act (1999), mandating education about Native American tribal history, culture, and heritage in all the schools, from pre-school through college, in an effort to increase knowledge and appreciation about Indian culture among all residents of the state, as well as to reinforce Indian students' understanding of their own cultures' contributions.[185]

Universities in South Dakota host a variety of sports programs. For many years, South Dakota was one of the only states in the country without a NCAADivision I football or basketball team. However, several years ago SDSU decided to move their teams from Division II to Division I,[190] a move followed by the University of South Dakota.[191] Other universities in the state compete at the NCAA's Division II or III levels, or in the NAIA.

Fishing and hunting are popular outdoor activities in South Dakota. Fishing contributes over $224 million to South Dakota's economy, and hunting contributes over $303 million.[198] In 2007, over 275,000 hunting licences and 175,000 fishing licences were sold in the state; around half of the hunting licences and over two-thirds of the fishing licences were purchased by South Dakotans.[199] Popular species of game include pheasants, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and turkeys, as well as waterfowl such as Canada geese, snow geese, and mallards. Targets of anglers include walleye in the eastern glacial lakes and Missouri River reservoirs,[200][201]Chinook salmon in Lake Oahe,[201] and trout in the Black Hills.[202]

Other sports, such as cycling and running, are also popular in the state. In 1991, the state opened the George S. Mickelson Trail, a 109-mile (175 km) rail trail in the Black Hills.[203] Besides being used by cyclists, the trail is also the site of a portion of the annual Mount Rushmore marathon; the marathon's entire course is at an elevation of over 4,000 feet (1,200 m).[204] Other events in the state include the Tour de Kota, a 478-mile (769 km), six-day cycling event that covers much of eastern and central South Dakota,[205] and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which draws hundreds of thousands of participants from around the United States.[112]

^Heather Cox Richardson (25 November 2013). Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre. Basic Books. p. 101. ISBN9780465025114. "On February 22, 1889, outgoing President Cleveland signed an omnibus bill that divided the Territory of Dakota in half. The bill also enable the people in the new Territories of North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as the older territories of Montana and Washington, to write state constitutions and elect state governments. The four new states would be admitted into the Union in nine months. This plan cut Democratic New Mexico out of statehood, and split Republican Dakota Territory into two new Republican states. Rather than two new Republican states and two new Democratic states that Congress had considered the previous year, the omnibus bill created three new Republican states and one new Democratic state that Republicans thought they would capture. In their eagerness to admit both Dakotas, Republican congressmen also ignored the uncomfortable fact that much of the land in the anticipated state of South Dakota belonged to the Sioux